San Francisco Giants Boss Says Kyle Harrison 'Hungrier' Entering Season

A former top pitching prospect, San Francisco Giants starter Kyle Harrison, is ready to go after an up-and-down first full year.

Sep 3, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (45) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Oracle Park. / John Hefti-Imagn Images

Just a couple of years ago, the San Francisco Giants had the best left handed pitching prospect in baseball in the form of Kyle Harrison.

He made his debut in 2023, but his first real taste of action came in 2024. It was a bit of a rough year for the young lefty, but his manager Bob Melvin thinks he's "hungrier" and ready to go for 2025.

On the latest episode of the "Giants Talk" podcast, manager Bob Melvin spoke about the high expectations that Harrison began his career with, as well as his thoughts on what he could do in 2025.

"That’s a lot to have on your shoulders when you get to the big leagues. Now, there’s such an expectation level," he said of the lefty coming into the league.

At one point in 2023, Harrison was ranked as a top 20 prospect in all of baseball by MLB PIpeline. There were a lot of expectations surroundg the youngster, and his season young career has been up and down so far.

In his 24 starts last season, Harrison threw 124.1 innings to the tune of a 4.56 ERA and 8.5 K/9. He flashed brilliance at times, but could never string together more than one start like that. But Bob Melvin believes the ceiling is still there.

"But the ceiling is still there. I think he’s hungrier now knowing that he can have success. And it’s just about putting together a consistent season. I do agree with you on the injury, he did come back and probably wasn’t the same, probably favoring a little bit and that affected his numbers somewhat. But there’s still a very high ceiling for Kyle Harrison and we expect him to be a top-of-the-rotation guy," the manager said.

The fact that the team still expects him to be a top of the rotation pitcher shows the faith they have in what he showed in his development, not just what he showed in the majors.

The injuries did seem to have an impact on his pitching, as in four of his last six starts he didn't even make it to the fifth inning. It was an ankle injury which may have effected his mechanics. His season then ended early due to a shoulder injury, but now has the entire offseason to rehab it.

Harrison has the stuff and the pedigree to still be excited about him, and it's clear that the Giants brass still fully believes he can slot in right behind ace Logan Webb. In what is really his sophomore year in 2025, San Francisco hopes he can take the leap forward.